Orbit; 4/14/20
eBook review copy; 416 pages
Rampart Trilogy #1
The Book of Koli by M. R. Carey is a highly recommended dystopian coming-of-age tale and the start of a new trilogy.
Teenage Koli Woodsmith lives in the small village of Mythen Rood in a postapocalyptic place called Ingland (U.K.) during a time when murderous, genetically modified trees, plants, and creatures or shunned men outside the protected city walls will kill you. Mythen Rood is governed and protected by the Ramparts, which one family controls. They also control the old tech that is used to protect the village. Koli learns a secret that results in his banishment from the village, which normally means certain death in the hostile wilderness. But Koli has a secret helper and an ally in Ursala, a traveling doctor.
This is Koli's story and he is the narrator. The dialect he uses may be a problem for some readers. I had times when it annoyed me quite a bit while reading; much of my annoyance was due to the poor grammar and syntax. You will have to ascertain your ability to overlook a whole lot of word usage like, "Of course I knowed it." or I could of brung I recently learned in real life that my tolerance is low for this over time. Overlooking this and the slow start to the action will pay off later. The world building is interesting and the characters are unique. Old tech (tech we'd understand) needs to be figured out by someone who doesn't have a clue.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Hachette Book Group.
No comments:
Post a Comment